Energy drinks – The good, the bad and the ugly!

There are some important and significant differences between energy drinks and sports drinks which you should be aware of when making a decision about what is best to drink to enhance your performance.

Sports drinks are beverages formulated specifically for use during exercise to enhance performance.

Sports drinks are designed to increase performance, replace electrolyte loss and prevent dehydration

Energy drinks are a lifestyle beverage containing a range of ingredients to provide wakefulness and energy. If your drink is carbonated, it isn’t a sports drink!

Examples: Red Bull, Monster, Relentless, Lucozade Energy

Energy drinks contain significantly more carbohydrate, often from high fructose corn syrup (the ugly!), which can cause stomach discomfort and slow the rate of fluid absorption – as well as promote unwanted weight gain

High levels of sugar found in energy drinks result in a sugar rush, quickly followed by a crash, which can impair performance

Energy drinks contain a large amount of caffeine which can result in dehydration

Many are carbonated, which can lead to burping, nausea and a bloated feeling

How to choose your drink:

There are three sports drinks, which contain various levels of fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrate:

Isotonic – Fluid, electrolytes and 6-8% carbohydrate

Hypotonic – Fluid, electrolytes, low level of carbohydrate

Hypertonic – Fluid, electrolytes, high level of carbohydrate

Isotonic (e.g. Lucozade Sport, SiS Go) – quickly replaces fluids lost by sweating and supplies a boost of carbohydrate. If your sports drink contains 6-8g CHO per 100ml it will be Isotonic.

Hypotonic (e.g. Powerade Zero, Lucozade Lite, squash with a pinch of salt) – quickly replaces fluids lost by sweating. Perfect for when sweat rates are high and exercise lasts less than 90 minutes. If your sports drink contains less than 5g CHO per 100ml it will be hypotonic.